Layoffs at Style.com following eCommerce announcement

As Condé Nast prepare to transition its digital publication – Style.com – into a new eCommerce platform, a series of layoffs at the fashion title's team has already begun. With five people said to have lost their jobs at the U.S HQ so far...

Following its major announcement earlier this week that this fall it will fold Style.com into Vogue.com and Voguerunway.com to pave the way for an new eCommerce platform at the iconic digital address, Condé Nast are now making a series of layoffs.

Five people in the U.S HQ Style.com team have been culled according to reports, including a photo editor and its fashion market director.

The news that Style.com would essentially close, as we know it, and transform into an eCommerce site wasn't a surprise for everyone – as many saw it coming as early as last November, when Anna Wintour took the helm and its editor-in-chief Dirk Standen began reporting to the world-famous editor. Style.com's publisher Matt Rice also began reporting to Vogue and its publisher Susan Plagemann. It is still unclear now what role Standen will take following the shakeup, and WWD reported that he could not be reached for comment. Rumour has it that Standen was not aware of these major changes until very recently.

Sources also revealed to WWD that the eCommerce announcement is hardly surprising considering that Condé Nast artistic director and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is on a mission to expand Vogue's digital presence. And despite the fact that Style.com won the People's Choice award for fashion and beauty on Monday, it is said to be seen as a director competitor to Vogue and its new digital plans.